Wet & Wild
Chiefs open Division 1 grid playoffs by drenching Stevenson with TDs

BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

It rained cats and dogs throughout Friday night's Canton-Livonia Stevenson Division 1 playoff opener at the P-CEP football stadium.

But the only things reigning were the Chiefs.

Playing in relentless showers and steadily dropping temperatures, Canton dominated from the opening raindrop, er, kickoff as it scored on its first four possessions to flood the overmatched Spartans, 48-0.

Canton will now take its 10-0 record and No. 2 Division 1 state ranking into next Friday's District final game against South Lyon (9-1), which ousted Monroe, 14-6. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the P-CEP football stadium.

Stevenson, which suffered its seventh consecutive first-round playoff setback, finished 6-4.

Rumor has it that game balls were presented to Canton senior running back Deshon McClendon, who ripped off a pair of long TD runs; each member of the Chiefs' starting defense, which recorded its third shutout of the season; and weathermen Jerry Hodak and Chuck Gaidica, who provided optimal conditions for the winners' ground-oriented fullhouse-T offense.

"We wanted crappy weather and we got it," said Canton coach Tim Baechler, referring to the conditions that hampered Stevenson's usually potent put-the-ball-in-the-air attack. "Our defense went out there right away and set the tone for the rest of the game, and the offense turned it on too."

Baechler was especially pleased with the play of McClendon, who racked up 154 yards on just five carries in one half of play. The Chiefs' best player has been hampered all season by a variety of physical ailments, but on Friday night he looked as finely tuned as the trumpet played by Canton's one-person pep band, Linda Calzone.

"It was nice having Deshon back and playing as well as he did," said Baechler. "We're a different team when he's on the field."

The Spartans' defense would second that opinion.

On both of McClendon's touchdowns -- 56- and 69-yard scampers -- the 5-foot-7, 180-pound fullback ran virtually untouched to paydirt as all but one Stevenson player fell for the Chiefs' hide-and-seek ball fakes. Unfortunately for Stevenson, the one player who didn't fall for the deception didn't have the wheels to chase down Canton's best player.

"The one play (McClendon's first TD) we plugged the hole and the linebacker had him, but he just spun away from the tackle," said Stevenson coach Tim Gabel. "On the other one, he just slipped right through with nobody laying a hand on him.

"I think what makes it hard defending Canton is that they're really balanced. With the two tight ends and the T-formation, they can hit you at anytime and it's impossible to overplay. And when they have the physical advantage, you're in trouble. It's a question of execution. They just knocked us off the ball. We had linemen in our linebackers' faces and that makes it even more difficult."

Canton nearly scored on its fifth possession as well, but Stevenson defensive back Pat York intercepted a Steve Paye pass at the goal line, foiling what to that point had been an eight-play, 49-yard drive.

The Chiefs' first two scores came on senior running back Nick Moores' 1-yard plunge at 7:14 of the first quarter and Paye's 9-yard keeper three minutes later. Canton took a 28-0 advantage into the intermission on McClendon's two long sprints.

The second half -- all but 14 seconds of which was played with a running clock due to the Michigan High School Athletic Association's 35-point mercy rule -- started like the first half ended as Moores wove through the Spartans' kick-off unit for a 90-yard score. It was Moores' second kick return for a TD in the past three weeks.

The final two TDs came on a 2-yard run by Antwaun Hawkins and a 10-yard run by Devin Murphy.

Canton kicker Colin O'Shaunessy was 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts. The snap was botched following the sixth TD and senior Blaine Paden split the uprights for the final one-pointer.

The biggest play of the night for Stevenson was freshman running back Austin White's 63-yard dazzler, which moved the ball from the Spartan 3 to the Chiefs' 34.

However, the potential scoring drive was thwarted when Canton's Billy Turner sacked quarterback Mitchell White on a fourth-and-4 play from the Canton 13.

The Chiefs outgained Stevenson 360 (all on the ground) to 202 in total yards.

The most deceiving stat of the night was time of possession: Stevenson 24:01, Canton 23:45.

Derek Perino and Chris Bogdanski recovered fumbles for Canton's defense.

Complementing McClendon's big night were Hawkins (eight carries, 56 yards), Ryan Neu (three runs, 51 yards) and Moores (eight for 43).

Austin White paced the Spartans with 82 yards on eight attempts. Kevin Murawski gained 39 on five attempts.

Mitchell White, who had thrown more than 70 passes in the previous two games, completed just 6-of-14 aerials for 48 yards.

Canton moved the chains 13 times to the Spartans' 11 first downs.

Gabel took his hat off to the Chiefs' resiliency as they've overcome a rash of injuries to win their first 10 games.

"It's a credit to their whole program that when they have some of their key skill guys out, they still are able to have the kind of season they've had," Gabel said. "You have to give them credit.

"And with those guys back, they're hitting on all cylinders. They look like they can go deep in the playoffs again."

ewright@hometownlife.com (734) 953-2108

Originally published October 29, 2006